All of the panelists have degrees in chemistry, and some of them worked for several years in research positions before transitioning into their current jobs.

What’s on the agenda?

This won’t be just another boring meeting. I’m hoping to get people out of their seats and moving around the room, where they will get to meet each of the panelists, as well as all the other attendees who are curious about nontraditional career options for chemists.

Once we’ve all gotten to meet each other, we will transition to the Q&A portion of the session. The panelists will introduce themselves and talk about how they got to where they are today. They will also offer advice and will field questions from the audience, such as:

What is a typical day like for you?

Why did you decide to leave the bench? Why not academia or industry?

What do you love about your job? What aspects could you do without?

What advice do you have for chemists out there aspiring to similar careers?

How hard is it to break into your field? Is there room for growth?

So if you’ll be at Pittcon, I hope you’ll consider attending the networking session and I look forward to meeting you! And if you won’t be attending Pittcon, no worries– I’m planning on blogging about some of the highlights from the session, so stay tuned for that!

About the Safety Zone

The Safety Zone covers chemical safety issues in academic and industrial research labs and in manufacturing. It is intended to be a forum for exchange and discussion of lab and plant safety and accident information without the fanfare of a news article.